Jessica Patterson

Jessica Patterson (1981-) was the Chairwoman of the California Republican Party from 24 February 2019. She was the first woman to lead the party, and she sought to diversify it and prioritize local issues in order to revitalize the collapsing party, which was in its worst state ever due to its catastrophic losses in the 2018 midterms.

Biography
Jessica Patterson was born in California in 1981 to a Hispanic family, and she became CEO of California Trailblazers, a party recruitment and training program for political candidates. In February 2019, Patterson was elected Chairwoman of the California Republican Party as part of an attempt by the party to diversify itself in the aftermath of the disastrous 2018 midterm elections; Taiwanese immigrant Peter Kuo was elected Vice Chairman and the openly gay Greg Gandrud was elected Treasurer. While Patterson voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and was an ally of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, she was criticized by far-right and Tea Party activists for being an "establishment" candidate. Patterson sought to avoid having the CAGOP focus on national issues, and she instead sought to prioritize local issues such as high housing costs and taxes, which she believed could lead to GOP victories in the upcoming 2020 elections.